WikiLeaks: Pak government ‘crossed a red line’ with missing people

A US diplomat said missing persons could not be located without cooperation from intelligence agencies.

In a new WikiLeaks cable, a US diplomat says that the Supreme Court’s order to locate missing persons in October 2006 was the first official acknowledgement that the government had crossed a red line in its pursuit of the war on terror and against Baloch and Sindhi political activists.

In a cable filed by US diplomat Peter Bodde about the 41 missing persons believed to have been arrested by government authorities and subsequently held incommunicado, he wrote:

Without cooperation from Pakistan’s powerful intelligence and security agencies, however, there is little chance of accounting for up to 600 others who are still missing.

In the cable, Bodde acknowledges that the Supreme Court has focused on 41 missing people, but says that there are many more whose “whereabouts remain unknown”. Bodde wrote:

Nevertheless, “disappeared” Pakistanis — innocent and guilty alike — have fallen into a legal black hole. The Supreme Court’s activism on the issue is a brave and encouraging start, but there are a number of obstacles that will make solving the problem a serious challenge. Interior Ministry and Attorney General’s office must rely on information from Pakistan’s powerful intelligence agencies to comply with the Supreme Court’s order. So far, this pressure has generated a few releases — often abrupt affairs, in which detainees have reportedly been pushed out of cars, confused and disoriented, and left to find their way home. It remains to be seen whether the Court’s scrutiny will have a lasting effect on the way the intelligence agencies do business.

At the end, Bodde added that those who have advocated for the missing have “also begun to suffer repercussions”. He gave the example of the Chief Justice, about whom the local media reported that a high court lawyer had lodged a complaint with the National Accountability Board regarding Chaudhry’s son, Iftikhar Mohammed, for corruption and abuse of power.

Cable Referenced: WikiLeaks no. 95737

The full text of the cables can be read on Dawn.com, The Hinduand NDTV. WikiLeaks has previously released cables to other media organisations including Guardian and the New York Times.